Hold On
by Icewind Alchemist
Summary: Semi-prequel to Death God Chronicles. A normal day preparing for a new arrival takes a turn for the worse when a normal hollow alert turns into a threat to Rukia and her unborn child. IchiRuki. SPOILERS for later in the story!


**Title: **Hold On

**Author: **Icewind Alchemist

**Rated: **T for…you should know already!

**Pairings: **IchiRuki

**Disclaimer: **Ichigo and Rukia would officially be a couple right now if I owned Bleach!

**Summary: **A normal day preparing for their new arrival takes a turn for the worse when Ichigo and Rukia are attacked by an enemy they believed gone for good. The attack is aimed at Rukia and her unborn child, but the latter may not be as useless as they seem.

**Font Code: **

**Note: **WEEEEEEEEE!! It's official-my muse has been kicked off her lazy butt and is working it!

Earlier I had a poll asking if Rukia should be pregnant with San or Kaien for the story. And the vote was unanimous…between two people. So Kaien's in the womb. For those of you who are complaining, may this be a lesson for you-give input for the story.

Lesson over for the day! Here's the story!

BTW, this contains minor spoilers hinting at the abilities of Mizuotome.

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"For the last time, Rukia…" Ichigo growled. "We are NOT getting rabbit pajamas for our child! And San, stop pulling on my face."

The couple was in the baby section of the department store looking for items for their soon to be new arrival. Rukia's abdomen had swollen-the baby was due anytime and the two of them were doing possible last-minute shopping. With them was their two year-old daughter, Hisana or San as she was mostly called. She looked a lot like Rukia-with dark hair and large violet eyes. Though she wore an innocent expression as she tugged on her father's face.

"She's probably trying to get you to cheer up." Rukia joked. "Anyways, they aren't that bad!"

"Not bad?" Ichigo scoffed. "'Pajamas' isn't the right word for them. 'Costume' is more like it! Besides, what if we have a boy?! He may not be too happy about being dressed up as a rabbit."

"What if it's a girl who likes bunnies?!" Rukia shot back.

"You can't be too sure of things like this!"

"Then why did you bring up the baby being a boy?!"

"Because I was trying to reason with yo-"

"Excuse me!" a store worker came up to the family. "Customers have been complaining about the noise you two make when you argue! Could you possibly take this somewhere else?"

"NO!" Both Ichigo and Rukia shouted. The worked shrank back and the couple could've sworn they heard him squeak. There was an uncomfortable silence.

"Bun…ny?"

All three adults stopped and stared at the young girl, who had just spoken her first word. She looked back and forth at both of them. "Bunny?"

"AHA!" Rukia shouted. Ichigo sighed. "I told you that her first word would be 'bunny!' You owe me!"

"I should've known…" The orange haired male was muttering. "And here I thought I had the advantage because I had more than one word on my side…"

**BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!**

Both Rukia's pager and Ichigo's badge went off. Both of them cursed as they fumbled to get them out-the latter also trying to balance his daughter. The clerk was oblivious to the sound and trying to figure out what they were cursing about and why they were looking for something all of the sudden.

"Rukia, you head home while I-"

"No, you fool!" Rukia admonished. "If you change out here, you'll attract attention! Especially since you don't have Kon with you!"

"But what about the baby?!" Ichigo hissed, trying to keep his voice down so no one could hear them-though the clerk was still confused to their sudden behavior. "You're risking more than your life here!"

"Ichigo-it's a Hollow. I'll take care of it quickly and get back. It won't affect our child at all." The last part was true. Although Rukia was advised not to continue her work fighting Hollows while carrying a child, Captain Unohana assured both her and her husband that leaving her body would not harm the life inside her at all-it would simply be separated from its body.

Ichigo sighed. "Alright, but once I hand San over to Hanataro, I'm going with you." Hanataro was assigned to stay with the couple to keep an eye on Rukia's condition-since a gigai giving birth was more complicated than a normal human woman. He also volunteered to help look after San when something like this happened.

Rukia popped the gikongan into her mouth, swallowed, and came out of her body in her Soul Reaper form. Her swollen stomach had disappeared-something that puzzled Ichigo. Didn't a soul reflect the body's shape? He made a mental note to ask Hanataro this-not that it bothered him since, as far as he knew, it shouldn't give Rukia any trouble while fighting the hollow.

After giving a quick order to Chappy to keep on eye on her body, the petite Soul Reaper rushed off, heading towards the area where her pager said the hollow was lurking.

**/\**

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"Hey! Hanataro!" Ichigo called out for the Squad four member. Hanataro was waiting outside for him and Rukia to come out and go home with them.

Hanataro immediately got up from the bench he was sitting at and waved to Ichigo. "Oh! Ichigo! Ruki-"

"Rukia went after the Hollow-Chappy's taking her place for now." Ichigo explained. The healer's eyes widened at the statement.

"D-Did you just say she went after a Hollow?!" He stuttered, starting to panic.

Ichigo frowned. "Yeah…what's wrong?"

"I-I just got a message f-from Soul Society!" Hanataro handed a piece of paper to the substitute Soul Reaper.

Brown eyes scanned the message, then widened in horror. "Oh no…" he whispered under his breath.

**/\**

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Rukia stared in shock at who was before her. A man stood before her with an evil grin, wearing something that looked like an inversed shihakushō. There was no mask or hole on him, but it was obvious he wasn't friendly.

"So…you are the famed Rukia Kuchiki," The man began. "The former Lieutenant of Squad Thirteen before leaving to remain in the Living world with Substitute Soul Reaper Ichigo Kurosaki. Oh! That would mean you're Rukia Kurosaki now, wouldn't it?" He chuckled. "I am Manabu Kitagawa, a rogue Soul Reaper. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"B-But I thought a Hollow would be around here!" Rukia murmured.

"Ah-that! I allowed a Hollow to arrive here and just before you arrived I disposed of it. I only needed it to lure you out, after all." His black, cold eyes narrowed. "But why would someone the level of a Lieutenant be afraid to enter combat with another Soul Reaper when they were eager to slay a Hollow?" He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, beginning to circle Rukia, who had drawn her zanpaku-tō and held it out to defend herself incase he decided to attack.

Manabu suddenly halted and his smile widened. "What's this? I sense a soul within your own!" He laughed-the cold, harsh tone sending a shiver down Rukia's spine. "So you and your husband were busy when you weren't fighting Hollows, hm? This is something to investigate-the child of two powerful Soul Reapers. One of them being human to begin with!" Manabu drew out his own zanpaku-tō. "My original orders were to test your abilities, but I believe I can also bring back a little extra gift-technically two!"

Rukia dodged a slash that was aimed at her shoulder. Another went for one of her legs. 'If he wants me alive, he just has to incapacitate me.' She realized. 'Thankfully, I don't have to hold back!' Both her hands were held out as she jumped above Manabu. "Hadō number sixty-three!" she incanted. "Sōren Sōkatsui!" Two blasts of blue energy shot straight at Manabu. Surprise was written all over his face, but his smile returned as he dodged.

"Not too shabby, but that can't possibly be all you can do." The man lazily gestured at her. "Bakudō number sixty-one! Rikujōkōrō!" Rukia barely managed to get out of the space the beams were closing in on. 'Damn it! I'll have to finish this quickly.' She tightened her grip on her zanpaku-tō

"Dance, Sode no Shirayuki!" The silvery blade turned pure white, as did the guard and hilt. The guard went from rectangular to round with something like the spokes of a wheel. A ribbon, as white as the rest of the blade, floated gracefully out of the pommel.

"Ah! So you've finally decided to release your zanpaku-tō!" Manabu smirked. "Well, this should be quite interesting."

Rukia said nothing. Instead she jumped close to where Manabu stood. "First dance! Tsukishiro!" A circle of ice glowed under her and the rogue Soul Reaper. As ice started forming on Manabu's feet, he jumped out of the circle.

"Nice try! I know about your zanpaku-tō's abilities!" He was preparing to attack again when-

"Manabu," a figure-whom Rukia couldn't tell was male or female-stepped out of a gash formed in the sky. Like Manabu they wore the same white clothes yet had no mask or hole on them-although they wore something over the top half of their face to conceal most of their features. The voice was mostly monotone, with nothing in it to display gender. Even their hair was grown to the middle of their nape-something that could be masculine or feminine. "What are you doing? Your orders were to test Rukia Kuchiki's abilities, but I find you here toying with her."

"I believed the orders have changed, Akira." Manabu declared. "Recently I discovered she is with child. Think about it-the child of the one who killed our lord and the one who killed his right hand. Isn't that worth bringing back alive?"

"No-there are reports that there is another child that has already been born." Akira informed. Rukia's eyes widened as he mentioned her daughter. "It would be better to take her than two beings at once. And since her abilities," they nudged their head towards Rukia. "are of no more interest, I'll dispose of her." They held a hand out in her direction. "Hadō number sixty-three. Raikōhō." The massive yellow energy shot forward at Rukia.

She tried to get out of the way, but it seemed like her feet were rooted to the ground. 'What's going on?!' she panicked. 'If I don't move now, my child and I will die!' Her hands, still gripping Shirayuki, went up as if preparing to block against the massive blast. 'Why am I doing this? There's no way I'll-'violet eyes widened as a change went before her. For a moment, Shirayuki's white blade turned deep blue with a rut down the middle. The guard was a dark grey, triangular shape. The hilt was also dark grey with blue-green wrapping around it. Instead of a ribbon three dark green cords hung from the pommel, each with a crystal sphere hanging from them.

And then the energy blast hit.

Manabu scoffed. "Did you have to use that much to get rid of her? It seems like an overkill."

"It had to be done," Akira declared. "She had to be disposed of quickly before she received any aid. Now let's return to give our-"

"You didn't finish the job, Akira." Manabu suddenly spoke. "She's alive."

Akira froze, then slowly turned around. If their eyes were visible, they would've been wide as saucers.

Rukia was on her feet, her head bowed low and holding her zanpaku-tō perpendicular to the ground. The energy blast from before had been cleaved in two, both halves turning translucent and falling like rain to the ground. She was slowly walking towards the two rogue Soul Reapers, the blade slowly being brought forward to attack.

"The energy turned into water…" Manabu murmured. "But Sode no Shirayuki is an ice type…"

"I-Impossible!" Akira sputtered. "Soul Reapers can't have two zanpaku-tō!"

Rukia stopped in front of the two and raised her head so she could see them. Her violet eyes were blank and her face was expressionless-rivaling that of her older brother's. With the zanpaku-tō closer and not obscured by the dust clouds, Manabu and Akira could now see that it wasn't her own. It began to rise, preparing to swing down.

"Oh no you don't!" Manabu was the first to recover, incanting right away. "Hadō number thirty-one! Shakahō!" The blast of red energy shot forward at the female Soul Reaper.

The zanpaku-tō swung down through the blast. Like the last one, it turned into water and fell harmlessly to the ground. More of the liquid appeared out of thin air and wrapped around the blade.

After cutting through the spell, Rukia disappeared in a blur and reappeared behind the two rogues. They both turned just as she slashed the blade in a semi-circle going through them-the water acting as an extension of the blade. Manabu was lucky-the blow only slashed through his clothing and made a long but shallow cut on his skin. Akira, on the other hand, wasn't-both steel and liquid slashed him in two.

Manabu stared at the two halves of his peer for a moment before turning and opening a garganta. As he stepped through-one hand clapped over his wound-he smirked. "Well, this proves a theory of mine." He murmured as the gap closed behind him.

Rukia, meanwhile, had snapped out of the trance she was in. Sode no Shirayuki was back in her hand. She was breathing hard and pain was shooting through her. Spirit energy swirled around her as she fell to her knees and passed out.

**/\**

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"Rukia!" Ichigo ran over to his wife's unconscious form and gently shook her in an attempt to wake her up. It was in vain. "What's going on here?!"

"Ichigo! Is Ruki-" Hanataro froze as he saw the gathering spirit energy. "We have to get her back to her body-NOW!"

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The first thing Rukia felt as she began to regain consciousness was icy coldness. It was wet, too. Her eyes opened and were momentarily blinded by whiteness.

She was in the middle of a winter forest. All the trees were blanketed with white snow and icicles dripped from a few branches. The dark haired Soul Reaper knew right away where she was-her inner world.

"…almost time for me to go…"

'Who is that?' Rukia hadn't heard this voice before.

"…owe Rukia an explanation…"

This one she knew. She ran towards the direction of the two voices.

There were two women in the clearing. One of them, the one whose voice Rukia recognized, wore a clean white kimono and had her dark hair pulled back into a ponytail tied with a white ribbon. Her gray eyes could be cold and piercing at times-such as when she was angered. She was her zanpaku-tō; Sode no Shirayuki.

The other wasn't as familiar. Though she also had dark hair, her bright yellow-orange eyes stood out among the whiteness; as did her short green yukata and dark gray pants. A scar crossed her face and over her nose.

"Who are you?"

"That is a question I can not answer," the woman responded. "if I did, it would give your child an unfair advantage."

"My child…" Rukia murmured before she made sense of everything. "Are you…could you be his…or her…"

"His-your child is a boy." The woman cut off. "And yes-I am his zanpaku-tō. Thus I can not tell you my name-just so that it won't slip out any time during his life."

"I understand," Rukia murmured. "But-was it you who helped me bef-"

"Not just me," the woman continued. "Sode no Shirayuki allowed me to come out-as she felt my abilities were more appropriate for the job, you were the one who drew on my power-"

"But I didn't even know about you!" Rukia protested. "How could I have-"

"It is the same as when a mother finds strength she didn't know she had to protect her child," the woman responded. "You were desperate to save not only your life, but also the one you carried. That made you subconsciously draw on my power."

"And you can also thank your son for helping on that part," Sode no Shirayuki broke in. "Because you're also housing his soul within your own, a connection between his inner world and yours was made. When your fear for both your lives entered his mind, he acted subconsciously as well; calling upon his powers to save his mother."

"Borrowing a child's powers…" Rukia murmured. "I've heard of that happen before-but no one ever proved it to truly happen. Mostly because Squad Twelve was forbidden to test the theory for fear of the mothers and their unborn children."

"Well, as you can see," the woman said. "the theory really does work. Now that I've explained everything, I'd best be going. As should you."

"What? What's going on?"

"The two worlds are about to separate-I can't stay here any longer." The woman seemed to be fading now. "And the doctors will think something is wrong if you are unconscious-especially during the birth of your child."

**/\**

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"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"

Ichigo nearly jumped at the shout. So Rukia was awake now. "Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?" he muttered to himself.

There was a mad scramble after Hanataro explained what was going on with Rukia's spirit energy-it meant that the soul inside her own was preparing to separate. When they got back to Chappy, she was going into labor herself-as the gigai was preparing to push the child out. They did a quick transfer before taking Rukia to the clinic.

Isshin didn't even perform his customary attack upon seeing his son enter-he had seen Rukia with him while he rushed and knew there was something wrong. He called Yuzu and Karin in to help deliver the baby (Hanataro was also with them at the moment) while instructing Ichigo to assume the fetal position and stay out of the way. "Déjà vu." Ichigo muttered, remembering the car accident that occurred while Rukia was waiting for her powers to return.

There was a slight noise, like someone sitting next to him and sighing. He looked over to the side and kept from laughing at the sight. San had sat next to him and had also gone into the same position as him. "You too, huh?" he asked. "guess they really don't need either of us at the moment." San made a small noise like a "hm" before directing her gaze at the ground. The two of them listened to shouts and screams from the delivery room.

Finally, a baby's cry was heard. Yuzu, Karin, Hanataro, and Isshin walked out of the room, tired looking but happy. "They're both fine," Isshin announced. "although your son decided to come out feet first instead of head first." He ushered Ichigo and San into the room. "Now go to my third daughter and my grandson!" He had snapped out of serious mode into humor mode. "Don't worry-I won't pull any surprise attacks!"

"Better not!" Ichigo shouted back, but went in anyways. Rukia was on the bed, wearing a tired smile on her face. She was holding a bundled-up blanket in her arms.

"So, are you-"

"Don't worry about me so much, fool." Rukia scolded, the last word added teasingly. "This is the second time, remember? I'll be fine." She moved the bundle so her husband could see their child.

Like all newborns, their son was far from cute at the moment. He was fast asleep, probably trying to forget about his first trauma in life-leaving the comfy confines of his mother's womb and coming into the world. A fine covering of dark and bright hair covered his head.

"What are we going to name him?" Rukia asked suddenly. "I guess it's your turn now-since I named Hisana."

Ichigo thought for awhile. He had to admit it was tricky-about the only name that came to mind was his mother's, but they had a boy not a girl. Just as he was about to give up and tell Rukia they'd wait until they found a name, an idea popped into his head.

"Rukia, what was the other name you were considering? The one you would've given San if she had been a boy."

"Oh! It was Kaien."

"Then why don't we use that name?"

"But then that would mean that technically I'm-"

"We're both naming him."

Rukia sighed. "Alright-Kaien it is." She held the bundle to Ichigo. "Do you want to hold him?"

"Sure, just don't wake-" Too late. Brown eyes popped open and looked at the person holding the owner, as if accusing him of waking Kaien. The newborn was silent for a few seconds before deciding there was nothing important going on and went back to sleep.

Rukia smiled. "Now we know he's a light sleeper."

San, who had stood to the side silently while her parents were deciding on a name, walked over and peered over the blankets into Kaien's face. "Kai?"

"Yes, San. This is Kaien. He's your little brother, so you help keep an eye on him. Alright?" San stared at Rukia a bit, as if trying to decipher the message. Then she went over to her sleeping brother and watched him.

"Well, seems she's already trying to do her job as the older sister." Ichigo joked.

Later there would be more scrambling to get the things needed for the new arrival-especially since the day was getting late. But for now, the family rested after the events of the day.

**/\**

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YES! DONE!

And my internet has been down for a few weeks! So hence the reason for the late update!

Don't know where the name of the story came from, it just popped into my head.

And I am working my butt off on chapter eight of DGC, but am currently in a writer's block. So I'll be working to break out of it.

Seeya!


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